The Veteran and the Kid

Lily Tomlin can’t stop hugging Spencer Breslin as they pose for pictures in a suite at the Century Plaza Hotel. Breslin, all of 8, is blushing with all the attention.

He better get used to it; after the release today of “Disney’s The Kid,” the young actor probably will be getting a lot more recognition for his performance as the overweight, emotional Rusty Duritz, who suddenly arrives at the house of his 40-year-old-self (Bruce Willis), now a nasty, driven image consultant. Tomlin plays Willis’ harried but understanding secretary.

Tomlin, 60, is one of American comedy’s precious commodities. Winner of six Emmys, a special Tony for her one-woman Broadway show “Appearing Nightly” and a Tony for best actress for the one-woman “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,” Tomlin has also picked up two Peabody Awards. Coming to fame in the late ‘60s on the classic NBC series “Laugh-In,” Tomlin has appeared in numerous films, receiving an Oscar nomination for 1975’s “Nashville.” One of her greatest comedic creations is Edith Ann, a precocious 6-year-old.’

“Disney’s The Kid” marks Breslin’s film debut. He began acting at 3 in TV commercials after being discovered by a talent agent while playing at an indoor playground near his home in Manhattan. Breslin, who is home-schooled by his mother and manager Kim, loves baseball and can recite dialogue from practically every movie he’s seen.

The veteran and the newcomer recently sat down together to talk about making the movie, comedy and dreams. Tomlin did most of the talking; Breslin spent a lot of the time, like any 8-year-old, picking at the soles of his running shoes.

Question: Spencer, what would you do if you jumped forward in time and met your 40-year-old self?

Spencer Breslin: I don’t know. If I was a real jerk [at 40], I would probably be very angry. I would give him a few whippings. [He jumps up and starts doing karate chops.] This one is for me. Bam. Bam. Here is my karate. Bam. Bam.

Q: What if you had the opportunity to meet your 8-year-old self, Lily?

Lily Tomlin: When I was 8, I was pretty joyful and full of myself. Then when I grew into adolescence, I thought I was too skinny. I actually used to pad my hips, I was so skinny. Marilyn Monroe was the beauty standard. So I would tell that little skinny kid, “Actually you have quite a wonderful, whole physical self, and you should love that self a lot more and not fall victim to all of that societal stuff, as those teenage years come on.”

Q: Spencer, did you know who Lily was before “The Kid”?

Breslin: The acting coach told me about her. So did Pat the schoolteacher. Remember when Jon [director Jon Turteltaub] was flipping me all over the place when I first met you?

Tomlin: Yeah.

Breslin: He was flipping me all over.

Tomlin: He was handling you like a rag doll.

Q: Lily, what were your first impressions of Spencer?

Tomlin: It’s hard to say all of these things in front of Spencer. He’s a living, breathing person. Look at his blue eyes--Spencer you were so natural, you know, such a great kid.

Breslin: Thank you. [blushing]

Tomlin: He was just there and unself-conscious. You had no sense that anybody was watching him [while acting]. When he wasn’t acting, he was off roughhousing with somebody or riding his bike.

Breslin: [jumping up] I had a lot of stuff to do. I had school, an acting coach, bike lessons, boxing lessons.

Tomlin: We only had one scene together in the garage, but the best part was when he was in the car and [Bruce Willis] was going to peel off with him. I had to say, “I think my boss may have lost his mind. Stay here with me.” And he had to say, “I’ll be OK,” and look up at me. Each time it was so fresh and in the moment. It was like a mixture of vulnerability. You knew he was going to be OK.

Breslin: She did a good job in the movie.

Tomlin: Did you get a couple of laughs out of me?

Breslin: [shakes his head “yes”]

Tomlin: OK! That’s good enough.

Q: Spencer, did you ask Lily for advice?

Tomlin: I don’t think he needed much advice. He has his own thing going on inside. In fact, I don’t think anybody should tamper with it.

Q: Lily, were you as funny as Spencer when you were his age?

Tomlin: I don’t think so. I don’t think I would have nearly had the kind of simple centeredness that Spencer has. I don’t think I would have any idea about it frankly.

Q: You had a lot of dramatic scenes, Spencer, especially when the kids try to beat you up and your father scolds you. Were those scenes hard to do?

Breslin: The one with the dad was very difficult. That was the hardest scene in the whole movie. I just thought of really sad things, and they put glycerin tears on me.

Q: What would Edith Ann think of Spencer?

Tomlin: [as Edith Ann] I think Spencer would be the kind of guy I would like to have as my friend. [Breslin laughs.]

Q: Do you still feel you have a kid inside yourself, Lily?

Tomlin: I do feel like I am much more open and innocent. I don’t want to say childlike, but I don’t feel cynical as a person, which is what is so glorious about a kid before they start getting so armored and socialized because a kid is still. . . . [to Spencer] Your eyes are like dazzling and gorgeous. This is getting too much. Everyone is heaping on you. You are, like, a heartthrob. [Breslin blushes.]

Q: Lily, did you want to be an actor when you were a kid?

Tomlin: You didn’t think of being an actor. I was from a blue-collar neighborhood and I thought I had to have a real job. I went in college as premed because I was fairly good in science, but not that good. But in college I got into a show and I thought, oh God, if I could just make a living doing this.

Q: What are you dreams for the future, Spencer?

Breslin: I want to be a police officer because I don’t like robberies. My mom got robbed. The money she had to pay a restaurant, some guy came up and took the money. I want to give back all the stuff people have stolen.

Q: Do you still want to act when you grow up?

Breslin: Yeah--part-time cop and part-time actor.